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The Flood That Follows
'''The Flood that Follows '''is a fanfiction by Streampaw. It is being posted on the blog every three days and updated on the wiki simultaniously. It is also on quotev. Blurb To forget about the consequences and simply flood everything behind. Fern's life has been a wreck from the very start. Born in the woods and lost from a young age, she has never been in one place for more than three moons, but that's subject to change. Recruited by a group that calls themselves the Syndicate, Fern is introduced to a series of tangled lies, secretsand things she was always to afraid to question involving cats that call themselves warriors, four "clans" and the death of a kit. But if she doesn't open her eyes in time, it might be all for nothing. Chapter 1- Sky She wakes up just as the sun rises. Typical, Fern thought. It was a habit she'd never been able to shake off, even when she'd been up all night running from dogs and twolegs, scrambling around half-blind for a safe place, before drifting off into sleep at, what, a little past midnight? It didn't really matter, to be honest. All she should be focusing on now was to find another place, another temporary shelter to stay the night, or maybe longer. She couldn't remember the last time she'd stayed in the same place for more than three days in the past season. Yawning a little, Fern got up, shaking herself to force the warm, sleepy haze out of her. It was time for hunting, and the prey wasn't going to wait for her. Bounding up on the shiny, metallic surface of the- what did they call them?- bins and onto a fence, she could just about spot a squirrel climbing a tree two gardens away. The kittypet who lived there was rather...overprotective, but at least his twolegs seemed to understand whenever Fern needed to hunt and never batted her away with any sort of hard object. She was almost half way down the fence when she spotted another cat- not the kittypet, thankfully- who had clearly noticed her too. Fern tried to brush it off and focus on her (eventual) catch, but the other cat's gaze was burning a hole in the back of her head that she just couldn't ignore. "What?" she asked, turning round in annoyance. The other cat shrugged. Now that she was actually looking, she saw that they were a she-cat, and a finely built one at that. The she-cats she usually saw in twolegplace were scrawny and weak, and, now that she thought about it, could barely catch their own prey. "...And that's one point to me." The she-cat's voice sounded amused, and having being jolted back into the present, Fern could see a mischevious, almost mocking smile on her face. Fern hissed. She'd done it! One of her best possible catches of the day, and she's completely blown it, somehow distracted by...by...by some random she-cat, some random she-cat she barely even knew! She dug her claws into the ground, but she could already feel herself blushing. "You know, you shouldn't let yourself get distracted so easily. Sometimes, it can cost you your life." And then she was gone. Fern scowled. "You think I don't know that?!" She yowled into the distance, but evidently she couldn't be heard. "Hey, keep it down!" The kittypet shouts from inside the house. It only made her scowl more. She couldn't stop thinking about it. Afterward, it was like a wind had come and scattered her thoughts- they were definitely there, but one would pop up out of nowhere seemingly randomly, at just the wrong time. Fern's only catch that morning was a measly rat that, after she had sniffed it closely, smelled strongly of rat poison. Her stomach growled. Stupid! She cursed. It's all that stupid she-cat's fault. Talking like that... Who does she think I am? But then again, it was just a coincidence. Some random she-cat couldn't possibly know anything about her past, or anything she had been taught. It was just a coincidence, so why was she so angry? Vivid images flashed through her mind, several from when she was a kit, playing in the woods like any other, before (she shivered as she remembered) that. "Oh hey, it's you again." Seriously? Out of all times you choose to show up, you choose now? Fern did her best not to glare at the sight of her, despite her inner voice telling her it was her own fault that she was distracted. But being Fern, she never really listened. "Sorry if I seemed a little...weird back then. I'm often told I come off as cold and intimidating." She cracked a smile. Fern tipped her head. It was genuine, as far as she could tell. Huh. Strange, for someone who seemed so eager to insult her earlier. "Hey, you haven't eaten, have you?" Fern shook her head. "Not since yesterday morning." "Huh, no wonder you were distracted." She mutters to herself and Fern isn't sure wether this was adressed to her or if she was just talking to herself. It's because of you, she was tempted to say, but she decided against it. "I've seen you around. You're pretty good." "At what?" Fern narrowed her eyes. Was she complimenting her, or was it just trickery? "You know. Hunting, fighting, knowing where to hide. You're not like other she-cats I've seen around these parts." Okay, definitely trickery. "Well, you're not like other she-cats I've seen around these parts either." The words left her mouth before she could stop herself. The other cat laughed, and this time, Fern didn't care whether or not it was a true laugh. It had been a while since she'd laughed with another cat. "That's because I'm not from here. Name's Sky." Probably because of those eyes, Fern thought. Sky's eyes were wide and clear and blue, blue, blue. Much more suited to her name than Fern was to her own. "Um... I'm Fern." "Let me guess. The eyes?" Sky's own blue shimmered with michief. Fern laughed. "I don't know, actually. My mother..." she paused, quickly trying to find a logical answer. "Well, she never told me to be honest." "Who says you had to know?" and they laughed again and Fern began to relax a little in Sky's company. And slowly, the little puddle of suspicion that had poole in her stomach since morning slowly disappeared until it was no more than a fading thought at the back of her mind. "Say, Fern," Sky said suddenly. "How would you like to join a group?" Chapter 2- Initiation # “A group?” Fern echoed, her ears twitching. “What group?” “You’ll know them when you see them.” Sky promised. The grey and white she-cat led the way through the undergrowth. They walked for quite a while; Fern remembered passing at least two streams and one road before reaching their destination. It was a dusty, sandy hollow, with moss growing round in the damper parts underneath a tree. “This,” she announced, “is the arena.” For a place called the arena, the clearing was rather small. Even though Fern was determined not to betray any outbursts of emotion to Sky, no matter how nice she suddenly was, she couldn’t help but cast an uncertain look to the other cat. Sky just looked away. Fern huffed. Have it your way then. They stood there for a while, waiting for who knew what. After what seemed like forever, Fern looked back and asked, “What are we waiting for?” “Be quiet.” Sky hissed. “They’re coming.” Fern was tempted to ask who “they” were, but the sight of three dark figures making their way through the undergrowth was enough to silence her. she tried to stand still, but it only made her more nervous so she shifted her paws instead. The figures grew closer, and slowly she could roughly make out the shape of three cats, all rather large. The middle one in particular looked like he could fight off three cats at the same time in his sleep, and, from the amount of scars he wore he probably had. Out of the other two, one was lean but muscular and from where she was Fer n could see he bounded through the ragged landscape with ease. The other was large, but not as large as the one in the middle but his dark pelt probably helped him to blend into the landscape. The intimidating look he had probably helped too, Fern thought. “Scar.” Sky nodded to the middle cat, before acknowledging the others. They were all toms, Fern noted. The smaller one was called Yew and the dark-furred tom was named Stone. “Sky.” Scar gave a nod of acknowlegment, before shifting his gaze to Fern, who decided to keep her head high. It was clear Scar was a figure of authority-the other two maybe his guards? From the way they stood close to him and their menacing looks, it wasn’t entirely impossible. She resisted the urge to gulp. It was a sign of weakness, after all. “Who do we have here?” “This is the recruit I mentioned.” Sky gestured to Fern, whose ears twitched in interest. Sky had been talking about her? “As I have said, she shows promise, and could be a great asset to the third circle.” “Promise is relative, as is power.” Fern could practically feel Scar’s steely gaze scanning her all over, looking for any faults. She was determined not to meet his gaze, and instead focused on her surroundings. She kept listening though, in case she learnt something. There was a couple f tree stumps and clumpsof bracken to the side. Moss grew underneath the shade of a tree. The floor was mostly sandy, tufts of grass lining the edges along with a bush of nettles. Above, trees, most leafless. One in particular reached higher than others, its branches almost spanning the whole area. So this is why it’s called the arena, she realised. It has everything needed to make an exciting battle “…We will have to see her power for ourselves.” Scar said, without the slightest hint of intimidation in his words. “What is your name?” Fern blinked, before realising he was speaking to her. “Fern.” She was proud of the lack of tremble in her voice. “I see.” The tom’s voice betrayed no emotion. “The initiation has three stages. The hunting stage, the fighting stage, and the tracking stage. The first two stages will earn you the oppurtunity of taking the third stage. And even then, you will not be a full member of the Syndicate. You will have to earn your place in your circle through taking part in training, training others, and fighting in battles. A quicker way to earn your place is by-” he glanced over to Sky, who stared straight ahead- “committing an invaluable act, whether in battle or not, that greatly benefits the Syndicate. Only then will you truly be part of the group.” “The tracking stage will take place later on.” He continued. “But the hunting stage will begin now. Do you see that patch of woods?” He pointed to a small wood only a few foxlengths away from the arena. “That is where you will take you hunting stage. We will let you know when you may stop. We will be watching you,” Fern suddenly realised he was the only one there; the others had hidden away somewhere. “But you cannot see us. You may begin.” This must be a pretty important group if you have to take three tests to enter, Fern thought, as she scanned her surroundings carefully. A tree- she ddin’t know what type- with nuts scattered on the floor before it stood to her right, while ferns and bushes lay to her left. And when she strained her ears, she could just barely here a bird- a sparrow, most likely. She decided to go for the tree first. Okay, so the wind is blowing in that direction…If I go like this, whatever decides to show itself shouldn’t be able to smell me. She waited, crouching down as low as she could without making a sound. Soon enough, a squirrel decided to come out of its hiding place and scrambled down the tree. From her position behind the tree in question, Fern could see it was completely and utterly absorbed in its nut gathering. Creeping forward slowly, she waited until its back was completely turned, before pouncing, using its large, bushy tail as a target and swiftly killing it with one paw before it could alert any others. I did it! she thought triumphantly. That’ll show Sky. At that moment, a sparrow had spotted a worm on the ground. Perfect! She stalked forward, slowly…slowly… Just then, her tail swished against a thorn and she hissed in surprise, causing the bird to give a cry of alarm and fly upward. Cursing inwardly, Fern jumped hastily and her claw caught on its wing just before it went out of reach, causing it to tumble to the ground where she finished it off. The rest of the hunting stage went slowly downhill. Because of the sparrow’s alarm, it seemed that every animal in the area had been alerted to her presence. The only other prey she caught was a mouse who had been stupid enough to crawl out of its nest before realising the danger it was in. Fern caught it before it went back in, for once thankful of her pale brown pelt. “You may stop now.” Scar’s voice rang across the wood without raising his voice, and it took all of Fern’s willpower not to look surprised as he and the others seemingly manifested from thin air. “The next stage will take place in the arena. You will be fighting Yew-” gesturing to the lean tom, who refused to meet her gaze- “and Sky. Use the surroundings to your benefit. Claws sheathed. The fight is over when one of you manages to pin the other down.” He looked at her expectantly. Slightly startled, Fern nodded. “You will fight Sky first. Agree on a start time. Remember, we will be watching.” And with that, the three of them slunk into the shadows, leaving Sky and Fern alone in the arena. “So, start on three?” Fern asked, somehow finding her voice. “On three.” Sky nodded. Three…two…one… And suddenly, Sky sprang into action, bounding toward Fern with astonishing speed. Thinking quickly, Fern rolled over just as Sky was about to trap her between her legs. Racking her mind for an idea, she dodged blow after blow, landing some of her own as she made her escape, when a lesson from when she was still a kit came to her. Get as high as you can without the possibility of falling to death. You can jump higher than most cats, Fern. Use that to your advantage. But what could she climb? Suddenly, she remembered the tree. Streaking across the arena, she led Sky away from the tree before using the rocks that surrounded it to gain high before springing all the way to the fork of the tree. That would give her time before Sky came up, enough for her to figure out a safe way down. The grey and white she-cat was currently circling the tree, searching for a way to climb up with her shorter legs and body. She couldn’t jump straight down; it would make too much noise. Besides, she could hurt herself. Sky had began climbing the tree, though slowly, using her claws. She was so focused on her path upward that she didn’t notice Fern had made her way to another tree very close behind her. Tensing her hind legs, Fern jumped once again, tackling sky with enough strength for her to lose her grip, surprise. Taking the opputunity, Fern trapped her between her hind legs, using her front paws to pin her down in case she tried to escape. She let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. If it wasn’t for the tree, there was no way she could have won. “Well done.” Scar’s voice came as a surprise. The three toms morphed back into Fern’s field of vision. “I would have liked to complete the second half of the fighting stage now, but it’s getting dark. It would be wiser to complete it in the morning. Sky, she is in your paws now.” They began to walk away, and Fern could only stare, dumbstruck, as their figures became smaller and smaller. “Wow.” Sky breathed. “That was… That was really good, surprinsingly.” “Yeah.” Fern couldn’t help but agree. “If it wasn’t for that tree I wouldn’t have won at all.” “That’s not what I meant.” Sky said, turning serious all of a sudden. “Even without the tree, you’re pretty good. Keep using your strengths to your advantage. Follow me, I’ll show you where to stay.” You talk to me like I’m a kit! thought Fern, but she padded slowly after her anyways. 0 Category:Fanfiction Category:In progress Category:Story of Secrets series Category:Chronicles of Chaos series